Ogden quarterback ready for his next snaps

Wednesday

Aug 9, 2017 at 12:01 AM

By Luke Manderfeld/Special to the News-Republican

Ogden head football coach Jacob Burger has been coaching high school kids for about seven years, even more considering his time as an assistant. He’s been at the helm of the Bulldogs for three of those seasons.

But in 2016, Burger did something he had never done or ever seen in his coaching career: he started a freshman quarterback, Sam Christensen.

In fact, it goes against an adage he learned years ago.

“An old coach told me, ‘Any time you start a sophomore when you get into competitive 1A and 2A football, that’s almost a lost season,’” Burger said. “You’re guaranteed a loss. That’s a sophomore. I can’t imagine what he’d say about a freshman.”

Whether that sentiment is true for other teams around the state or not, it sure was for the Bulldogs, who finished with just one win last season.

That wasn’t necessarily because of Christensen, though, who took the reins of the starting job about halfway through the schedule. The team was young — it only had nine seniors on the entire roster — and inexperienced, so the expectations were kept in check from the outset.

That didn’t stop Christensen from placing some of the blame on his shoulders.

“Yeah, it was tough,” Christensen said. “At the end of games, I watched a lot of film and I saw a lot missed throws that could’ve helped us score some touchdowns in some close games.

“A lot of it was on me, but I had to go into the next game with a different mindset.”

Christensen racked up 718 yards through the air while completing 53.4 percent of his passes. He threw five touchdowns against six interceptions, and he also rushed for 401 yards on 100 attempts.

“As a freshman, I think he did really well. We tried to ease him into it,” Burger said. “I don’t know if we gave him the position thinking he earned the position… He’s a gifted kid to play varsity football as a freshman, so he did just about as good as you hope for the team.”

Christensen started the season behind junior Jake Thompson, who was more experienced, but he started to make inroads toward the midway point of the season.

Christensen had some speed, which fit Burger’s no-huddle offensive approach. While Thompson could throw well, his package just wasn’t as well-suited for Ogden’s style of play. Christensen got his chance to start and ran with it, finishing as the No. 1 guy.

“At first, it was kind of like, ‘I’m starting, that’s pretty cool,’” Christensen said. “But then I realized that I needed to step up.”

Christensen took his preparation into his own hands. He and Burger started a weekly film session before school on Thursdays at Christensen’s request.

Christensen, who described himself as a “deer in the headlights” the first few practices, learned about the different calls at the line from Thompson. Thompson also helped him read the defenses and make the right decisions.

“He really pushed himself to get better on his own time,” Burger said. “Any opportunity he got to get better, he took it. So that’s a real credit to him.”

Because of the inexperience on offense, Burger and his staff were forced to simplify tactics. In previous seasons under Burger, Ogden was all fast, all the time. But the team had to take a slower approach — albeit, still with the no-huddle — in ‘16 to make things easier for the inexperienced players.

Christensen, with his speed and throwing combo, didn’t have much trouble mastering that offense. The next step is a natural one.

“He just needed to get bigger and stronger, which will just come from him getting older,” Burger said. “I think he’s got a good grasp offensively of what we want him to do.

“He can make the throws that we want him to do. Standing in the no-huddle offense, take a deep breath, and decide what side of the field he’s going to attack in the passing game. I think that’s something where he’s grown and he’s going to continue to grow.”

In 2017, Burger will be starting Christensen as a sophomore. That adage Burger learned back in the day still applies, but Christensen has proven that he may be the exception.

“If everything goes good and he stays healthy, I think he could be one of the great quarterbacks that goes through Ogden,” Burger said. “I think he’s very capable of that and I think statistically he’s going to be way up there because he started as a freshman some. He’s talented.

“I think he could be as talented a quarterback as I’ve had, and I’ve had some really talented ones.”